Everyone knows that stress is no fun. At the same time, many of us know that it comes whether you want it to or not! Chronic high stress can cause a myriad of negative health issues, it can interrupt your sleep, and it can cause changes in your metabolism, and cause emotional issues.

Today we will discuss some of the problems stress can cause. Tomorrow we will look at some solutions that may help. If you have any unusual fixes, leave a comment at the bottom of the blog and share with everyone.

High levels of stress increases cortisol. “Cortisol is the primary catabolic hormones in the body and is released during long periods of stress, sports or physical ...”as quoted from the dictionary. Coritsol has been linked to visceral fat (belly fat), insulin resistance, higher insulin counts, glucose intolerance and coronary heart disease. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cushingssyndrome.html .

High stress can also cause sleeplessness. A lack of sleep can cause memory issues, slower metabolism, and retention of fat (Annals of Internal Medicine-2010).

Heart rate and blood pressure rise under extreme stress. This can describe that feeling of “fight or flight” that you can feel as a reaction to immediate stress, but if your cortisol levels are chronically high, the body begins to acclimate in a negative way to this constant ‘panic’ state. Christine Horner, M.D., a nationally known surgeon with a special interest and expertise in natural medicine states in The Doctor’s Prescription for Healthy Living, “The problem is every day; non-life threatening events can trigger a full blown stress-response. For most everyday situations, this response isn’t necessary or appropriate.” For those with chronically high stress, she acknowledges that there is no wonder why those people feel chronically tired, fatigued and, with high blood pressure and irritability.

Obviously, conditions such as divorce, a loss of a job, death in the family etc. are catalysts for stress, but so are smoking, high levels of caffeine, alcohol, lack of exercise, insufficient sleep, and lifestyle habits increase the likelihood of negative health symptoms.

Tomorrow, let’s look at ways to reduce stress, even if you can’t remove the conditions that caused it. See you tomorrow.